final drive - Mundo Motorizado
final drive - Mundo Motorizado
final drive - Mundo Motorizado
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Things that will<br />
SHAPE<br />
F1 2013<br />
As well as the technical tweaks, there are a number of other factors that could afect the results<br />
on Sunday afternoons. EDD STRAW and JONATHAN NOBLE guide you through them<br />
nEw-SPEc PirElli TyrES<br />
Pirelli grabbed the attention in<br />
the early part of 2012 with its new<br />
rubber. There was a consensus in<br />
the paddock that the team that<br />
understood the nature of the tyres<br />
first would unlock the secret to<br />
winning the world championship.<br />
As it happened, most of the<br />
teams got a grip on the situation at<br />
the same time. So, by the end of the<br />
campaign, that increased knowledge,<br />
allied to some conservative choices<br />
with compounds, left F1 delivering a<br />
few one-stop processional events.<br />
For this season, Pirelli is shaking<br />
things up again – but this time going<br />
much further than by simply choosing<br />
some softer rubber to make things<br />
difficult for teams and <strong>drive</strong>rs.<br />
Yes, there will be some more<br />
aggressive compound choices (the<br />
new hard will be roughly where last<br />
year’s medium was), but the structure<br />
of the tyre is being stiffened up.<br />
The two changes have been<br />
brought about with the aim of<br />
helping increase the warm-up<br />
characteristics – and also to<br />
push the tyres much quicker into<br />
30 autosport.com January 31 2013<br />
thermal degradation.<br />
The new tyres are predicted to<br />
deliver around a three per cent<br />
improvement in grip, and the<br />
differences should be felt particularly<br />
strongly in areas of corners where<br />
there are combined traction needs.<br />
The gaps between compounds<br />
is aimed to be around 0.5 seconds<br />
per lap – thereby opening out more<br />
strategic options in 2013.<br />
One visual tweak is that the hard<br />
compound is no longer the ‘silver’<br />
it was last year. To avoid confusion<br />
its sidewall has been painted<br />
orange for 2013.<br />
One key improvement the teams<br />
will like is that the operating window<br />
of the tyres should be wider than last<br />
year – when there were numerous<br />
headaches caused by teams<br />
struggling to get a handle on the<br />
temperature balance between<br />
the front and rear tyres.<br />
The changes will not only impact<br />
on the racing – because two pitstops<br />
should now be the minimum at every<br />
event – but <strong>drive</strong>rs themselves will<br />
feel a difference in the cockpit.<br />
The improvements should make<br />
turn-in a lot sharper – so <strong>drive</strong>rs<br />
like Fernando Alonso will be<br />
especially happy.<br />
Improved mechanical grip<br />
from the rubber should also result<br />
in the grid being closer – because<br />
lap time performance is not so<br />
dependent on downforce.<br />
Pirelli is determined not to let<br />
tyres move out of the spotlight.<br />
Its changes for this season are<br />
the most aggressive it has made<br />
since it returned to F1 – and it is<br />
convinced its efforts will help bring<br />
‘uncertainty’ back to the sport.<br />
INTERMEDIATE WET SuPERSOFT SOFT MEDIuM<br />
HARD
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